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Barony of Heartsgrove
History Heartsgrove was formerly part of the larger Barony of Sarcelfen, and the area affected by what is commonly referred to as The Sarceline Incident of 572 K.C. In 37 L.C., as part of an effort to heal the land, Duke Maxen Montclair and the Baroness of Sarcelfen, Cassandra Lyon, agreed to carve off the northern section of Sarcelfen known as the ‘Withering Wood’ and hand it over to Thomas Reignsford and the Rangers of Mirwood for study and treatment. Description The Barony of Heartsgrove is a shadow-tainted land along the eastern shores of Mirror Lake in Mirwood County and the Duchy of Westridge. Ruled and governed by Lord Thomas Reignsford, the populace of Heartsgrove eke out a modest living amidst the dangers of the surrounding woods. The vast majority of any profits Lord Reignsford receives from exports goes to increasing and maintaining the security of Heartsgrove's residents and/or researching ways to heal the land. The Withering Wood is a magically tainted woodland area filled with gnarled, rotted trees bearing thorns instead of leaves, wild brambles grow in excess, the grass is sharp and serrated, and the animals of the forest display rabid aggression and disfigurement. Pockets of temporal and spatial displacements litter the woodlands with little to no warning of their locations and rumors of unimaginable horrors and monsters await victims lost deep in the woods. The area hosted two towns and several villages, all previously abandoned and collapsed into ruin. The lone sign of greenery near the north-central area of the Withering Wood is a single healthy tree - for which the area gets its name. This tree, the Heartsgrove, is a large weeping oak purportedly to have existed since before the founding of Stormwind. Great roots break the ground in a massive sprawl stretching nearly 50 meters from the single massive trunk. Twisted and bulged, the tree itself has grown thick and powerful over the many ages, dwarfing all others in Sarcelfen. The key and stark difference here is that the tree remains fully alive and in perfect health. Bearing broad green leaves every month of the year, the Heartsgrove has stood out as singularly immune to whatever cursed the rest of the Withered Wood - and indeed immune to the seasons themselves. Despite its health, however, the tree hosts neither animal nor insect. There are no birds nesting in its canopy, and no critters dare collect its acorns. Whatever has affected this tree may not be entirely natural. The old towns of Caister and Piscator’s Rest existed in ruin and memory. Once each a thriving goldsmithing town and ferry port respectively, the towns were evacuated following the Sarceline Incident. For decades, they have remained abandoned, slowly collapsing and falling into rubble as the many storms, seasons, and years passed them by. Points of Interest * Wildewood Manor Ruins - Former home of Caylin Lyon, an ambitious man and accomplished mage. Caylin was Baroness Cassandra's uncle. * Sarceline Tower - Home to the Westridge Circle Magi, the lands immediately surrounding the tower and nearby buildings were protected from the magical blast due to protective wards that have existed on the border of the land allotted to them since the tower was first built. Initially build to keep errant magic within the borders, the wards ultimately served another purpose. * The Heartsgrove Tree - A large weeping Oak in the middle of Heartsgrove and namesake of the barony. * Piscatur's Rest - Initially nothing more than a fishing pier with a tavern and an inn, Piscatur's Rest expanded into a ferry port and trading town prior to the incident. Lord Reignsford made this his base of operations in Heartsgrove when he first began resettling the area. With the reopening and expansion of the pier, Piscatur's Rest has become a waypoint for most caravans heading further into the County of Mirwood and the southern parts of the Duchy of Westridge due to a barge that can ferry them across Mirror Lake, cutting travel time significantly. Additional revenue is made by selling the Violet Perch fish caught in Mirror Lake to the Sarceline Magi, who value the fish for the magical properties contained within the fish's scales. * Caister - Once a goldsmithing town, Caister was known for its fine gold jewelry and dinnerware, as well as the resplendent gold leaf artwork and illuminated manuscripts created there prior to the Sarceline Incident. Caister has only recently been resettled after road improvements and fortifications have made regular travels safer. Plans to rebuild the town and reclaim/reopen the nearby gold mine are in progress. * Bredbeddle Mine - Once a source for gold to the workshops in Caister, Bredbeddle had fallen into a state of instability and infestation after decades of abandonment. Plans to clear the mine of the creatures that inhabited it as well as retimbering the interior mineshafts for safety were successful and the mine has begun producing gold ore once more. * Fields of Dust - The former farmland and breadbasket of Northern Sarcelfen, it is now a barren wasteland of dry cracked dirt. * Dead Mire - In between two rivers, this wetland area was once a fertile land with a large variety of plant and animal life. Now it's a deathtrap, filled with monstrous reptiles, quicksand, and the occasional Will-o-Wisp. * Eastridge Mountain '- The eastern mountain chain that marks the border of Heartsgrove and the Duchy as a whole. Small caves dot the face of the mountain, containing who knows what. * '''Sarcelfin's Spine '- A north to south running chain of mountains leading to the heartland of the Sarcelfin Barony. '''Military Strength * Total Estimated Strength: 200 * Knights of the Wild Wood - 12 * Men-at-Arms - 24 * Archers - 24 * Rangers of Mirwood - 10 (Rotating Assignment) * Levied Forces - 60 (20 ea: Infantry, Pikeman, Crossbowman) * Local Militias - 70 (WIP)Category:Duchy of Westridge Category:Stormwind Locations